Government must educate its citizens on human rights: People
Dec. 10 is Human Rights Day. The Jakarta Post asked some people whether they had ever violated others rights or whether their rights had ever been violated.
Sahala Aritonang, 42, is the secretary of the Jakarta branch of a political party. He lives with his wife and two children in Central Jakarta:
The government is reluctant to educate the public on human rights because it doesn't want people to be aware that their rights are being infringed upon. Due to that, human rights abuses are still rampant.
For example, in Jakarta we could see thousands of people's basic right to shelter violated in the recent string of evictions conducted by the city administration.
The words "human rights" in the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights are not attached for nothing. It means the government must educate its citizens about human rights. The same applies for the National Commission on Human Rights. If it fails to put an end to human rights violations, I'd like to see the commission dissolved.
Yari, 21, is a student at the school of medicine at YARSI University in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta. She lives with her parents, two sisters and one brother in Cipinang, East Jakarta:
Human rights mean freedom but that should not interfere with other people's freedom. It means being free to work, go to school, get a decent job and earn a living, as is stipulated in the Constitution.
I felt my rights were violated when I was in the students' initiation program (Opspek). The seniors told us, the new students, to do a lot of silly things all day long. They didn't beat up girls luckily, just the boys. Oh well, I know it was just for fun, it was nothing serious.
The military operation in Aceh is a case of human rights violation. I felt so sorry for students who could not go to school anymore because their school buildings were burned down.
Sandy, 27, works as a journalist with a daily newspaper in Central Jakarta. He resides in Kuningan, South Jakarta, with his wife who is expecting a baby:
I consider the availability of food, water, shelter and education as the most basic of all human rights.
The concern for human rights issues in Indonesia has improved since the reform movement in 1998 although some high-level officials are still free in spite of there being allegations of rights violations against them.
I also think that societies such as the U.S. or Canada care more about human rights issues. There is no way that we can compare the human rights implementation here to those countries because we are in a different stage of social development. Foreigners are more ready to consider human rights, given the social circumstances they are in.
-- The Jakarta Post